Chris with camera in hand in California's Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
In September of 2021, I teamed up with Oregon State Productions to begin shooting a feature-length documentary about the life and work of one of the university's notable alumni: Chris Johns, former Editor-in-Chief and staff photographer at National Geographic Magazine. The documentary, entitled The Wonder and the Worry, follows Chris and his daughter Louise, who is also a documentary photographer, as they revisit some of the places and landscapes that have proven formative to their identities—both as westerners and storytellers.
The documentary is set to release in 2023. Some of the production stills in this gallery were published alongside a feature I wrote about Chris for the Spring '22 edition of the Oregon Stater magazine.
Louise at home on the Anderson Ranch in Montana's Tom Miner Basin.
Chris chats with an old neighbor outside of his childhood home in Central Point, Oregon.
Chris and Louise check on a camera trap that Louise had set up near a cow carcass on the Anderson Ranch. Louise uses camera traps to document wildlife, including wolves and grizzly bears.
Chris at home in Missoula, Montana.
Chris visits with his mentor and professor, Ron Lovell, at Lovell's home in Gleneden Beach, Oregon.
Chris and Louise at work in Montana's Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.
Chris gazes up at redwood trees in California's Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, where he often went on boyhood excursions.
Chris in a pear orchard he worked in as a teenager, near Central Point.
Louise and Jade pup take in golden hour in the Pryor Mountains.
Chris peruses old editions of National Geographic Magazine in his home study.
Chris with camera in hand in Crescent City, California.
Louise and Chris plan their trip to the Pryor Mountains.
Louise and Chris check a camera trap on the Anderson Ranch.
Louise photographs a wild horse in the Pryor Mountains.
Chris with camera in hand in California's Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
Louise with partner Daniel and Daniel's niece, Esme, on the Anderson Ranch.
Chris observes wild horses in the Pryor Mountains.
Chris at home in Missoula, Montana.
Louise checks on a camera trap on the Anderson Ranch.
Chris with camera in hand in the Pryor Mountains.
Louise with Jade pup at home on the Anderson Ranch.